AMES, Ia. — Everything good and bad about Jarrett Degen was on display during his first two matches in Las Vegas last weekend.

Degen, the Cyclones’ lanky 149-pounder, opened the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational with a 17-2 technical fall over Western Wyoming’s Kenny Astle. The redshirt freshman used his funky technique to his advantage, piling up takedowns and nearfall points almost at will.

His next match, though, showed what can happen when Degen relies too much on his funk. Wisconsin’s Zander Wick countered it with sound technique en route to a 22-7 victory, sending Degen to the wrestlebacks.

“He’s a guy that competes really hard and a guy that makes a zillion mistakes a match,” Iowa State coach Kevin Dresser said Tuesday. “But he’s going to be fun. He’s going to figure it out.”

And when he does, watch out. Degen is already 8-3 this season and ranked 19th nationally at 149 by Trackwrestling. He figures to play a role as Dresser rebuilds the struggling Cyclones, who will welcome Big 12 foe Wyoming on Saturday at Hilton Coliseum.

Degen’s unorthodox wrestling style led to 184 victories, four state titles at Belgrade High School in Montana and a double All-American finish at the Junior National Championships the following summer.

“He’s different from every other wrestler,” said Kanen Storr, Iowa State’s starting 141-pounder. “You get to a leg and it’s like climbing a tree trying to score. It really is. You get a single leg up to your feet, and his head is still up above my wingspan.

“He’s tough. He’s a competitor, and he doesn’t like to give up anything, even in the practice room.”

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The Iowa State wrestling coach gave an early-season assessment on Tuesday.
Cody Goodwin/The Register

Degen initially joined Dresser at Virginia Tech last season and went 20-8 during his redshirt year. His length often stifled opponents and gave him leverage while riding legs on top. He collected 13 bonus-point victories — five pins, four technical falls and four major decisions.

Still, Dresser has his reservations about Degen’s wrestling style. He’s winning, sure, but he hasn’t beaten some of the country’s better wrestlers. Degen ultimately went 3-2 in Vegas, where his two losses came to Wick and American’s Michael Sprague, who are ranked 16th and 18th, respectively.

The transition away from his funky style has been tough, if only because he said he’s normally defaulted to it throughout his wrestling career.

“We’ve been working on it for a year and a half now,” he added. “This weekend, I lost to Michael Sprague. I was riding on top and I heard the coaches say, ‘No leg in!’ But with 20 seconds left, I threw the leg in and he grabbed it (and escaped to win the match, 5-4).

“I’ve been working on processing it in my head faster, but I’m mostly going off muscle memory right now. In those tough situations, you can’t use your head and you have to do what you’ve been doing for so long. I need to work on the basic more and more so I can get used to that.”

Degen will get another chance to show his progress on Saturday night against Wyoming. The Cyclones remain winless this season, but have as good a chance as any at defeating the Cowboys for the first dual victory of the Dresser Era.

Ideally, Degen hopes to pin down some basics and use the funk only when he needs it — the best of both worlds, really. It’s a nice weapon to have in wrestling, where matches can swing thanks to shifty hips and feet-to-back trips.

A good mix, he believes, will take him closer toward his goals.

“He competes hard and wrestling is really important to him,” Dresser added. “He’s somebody that, if you want to come out and watch somebody wrestle and get jacked up for one match, come see 149. He’s going to be very entertaining. I think good things are ahead of him.”

Cody Goodwin covers wrestling and high school sports for the Des Moines Register. Follow him on Twitter at @codygoodwin.